The Alliance of Civil Society Organizations working in the extractives and environmental governance sectors, has outlined 15 Critical Policy Reforms to measure Political Parties performance .
This is aimed at ensuring that whoever wins the 2024 general elections uses them to better the lives of Ghanaians.
This was made known at a press conference behalf of the CSO Alliance held in Accra to announce the key policy reforms expected to be included in the manifestos of political parties ahead of the 2024 general elections and beyond.
The Alliance which is made up of four coalitions and eight organizations, united with the commitment to shaping a better future for the nation.
This follows the Alliance earlier meeting held on June 26 to 29 , 2024, on the theme ‘CSO Manifesto Dialogue’ at the Royal Senchi Resort Hotel which brought together, manifesto committee representatives from major political parties, including the NPP, NDC, Movement for Change, CPP, Liberal Party of Ghana, and PPP.
The aim was to engage the parties on critical policy reforms as they prepare for the upcoming 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
Accœding to the Alliance, these reforms would provide valuable insights to influence the manifestos of political parties to shape the country.
The Alliance said, the discussions at the Royal Senchi Resort centered on four-crucial areas namely; Energy transition that is Upstream/Downstream Petroleum & Gas Sector, Forestry, Environment and Climate Change, Mining and Anti-Corruption.
Presenting the policy reforms, the Technical Advisor to UK-Ghana Gold Programme and Convener for the Alliance, Dr Steve Manteaw insicated that the Alliance is demanding some essential policy commitments from any political party aspiring to lead Ghana after the 2024 general elections.
This, he said would include commitment to more ambitious transition timelines and be more deliberate in its efforts at attracting investments into the renewable energy sector while, ensuring justice and equity.
Dr Manteaw stated that, the next government should leverage the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2016 (Act 815) to finance the Energy Transition agenda saying, the development of alternative energy sources (often interpretated as Renewable Energy) is one of 12 priority areas outlined in the PRMA. Parties must also commit to revisiting the stalled process of amending the PRMA.
He added that the next government must leverage the country’s vast forests and corporate-sponsored afforestation initiatives to obtain carbon credits from other nations or large emitting companies through carbon trading.
Again, the next government should activate Article 15 of Ghana’s Petroleum Agreement which emphasizes domestic supply requirement for crude oil to domestic refineries to enhance upstream and downstream synergy while ensuring economic stability, reduction in oil importation, job creation and efficiency within the oil and gas sector.
The Alliance recommend the next government to commit to addressing the gas Sector indebtedness by improving efficiency in the power sector and reforming the corporate governance of SOBs in the sectors.
Again that government and party must commit to fostering institutional alignment in the gas sector and provide innovative financing for gas infrastructure to enhance gas monetization and the effective use of gas as a transition fuel.
He further pointed out that the next government should commit to establishing a Youth Green Fund to provide loans on favorable terms and incentivize financial institutions to invest in youth-led green startups.
“Commit to enhance collaboration between the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to align Ghana’s industrialization agenda. “
That, the next government should commit to tackling illegal mining and its associated gold smuggling, illicit financial flows, money laundering and financing of serious organized crimes (SOC).
Again, the next government should commit to Regulatory Simplification: Review registration and regulatory processes to reduce bureaucratic barriers for green startups.
Furthermore, political parties should commit to Green Incubation Hubs: Create incubation hubs to provide support services like mentorship and training for green startups.
The next government should commit to amending the Public Procurement Act to require procurement entities to proactively publish the full contract documents on their websites, It should also tighten the rules around single source procurement, requiring higher-level approvals and detailed.
Also, be committed to political parties and campaign financing reforms including enforcing existing disclosure requirements in the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574) and expanding them to cover candidates at all levels (Presidential, Parliamentary, Assembly).
The Alliance also expect the next government to commit to prioritizing the passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill which includes provisions on Asset Declaration and Conflict of Interest.
In addition, the next government should commit to providing a funding mechanism for research and advocacy for civil society organisations to enhance their role in nation building.
According to Dr. Steve Manteaw, the above essential policies represent a roadmap for sustainable development, economic stability, and good governance in the country and called on all political parties to seriously consider the recommendations as they finalize their manifestos.
“As civil society organizations, we play a crucial role in promoting good governance and transformative development. Our alliance seeks to collaborate with political parties to ensure that the policies put forward in the 2024 elections address the pressing issues facing our country and pave the way for a brighter future”.
He said the Alliance remain committed to engaging with political parties and advocating for policies that would benefit all citizens and contribute to the overall development of the nation.
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